Cloud asked Vincent the question he had been wondering ever since he realized that the voice was an older version of himself, "Vincent, why are we doing this? What are we trying to change?"

"Very well then, I will tell you the story, as you told it to me," Vincent answered. "It started here, in Nibelheim, when Sephiroth learned of Jenova…"

By the time the story was finished, the books were well on their way to becoming ash and the underground lab was filling with smoke. Vincent used a fira on the smoldering heap of paper, which obliterated anything that hadn't already been burnt. After that, they escaped the basement as quickly as possible. They were both enhanced, but inhaling smoke wasn't good for anyone's lungs, enhanced or not.

Whatever tale Cloud had been expecting Vincent to tell, that certainly wasn't it. Parts of the story seemed more like a feverish dream than a reality. Sephiroth attempting to destroy the planet didn't sit well with him. Actually, the thought of Sephiroth going insane in the first place was rather uncomfortable.

There was a point in his life when Cloud wouldn't have believed it. Just weeks ago, he probably would have laughed if someone had told him that his childhood hero would one day destroy everything he held dear. Now though, he couldn't afford such doubts.

There was simply too much evidence. He had the mako, the strength, the muscle memory. The scars where Sephiroth stabbed him were still ingrained in his skin. If he chose to do nothing, he would eventually witness the burning of his hometown with his own eyes. That wasn't a reality he could live with.

As Cloud hurried up the stairs after Vincent, he considered his options. There weren't too many to consider. In fact, there were really only two: assume that killing Jenova had made enough of a difference, or keep working to make sure the world stayed saved. Even with his limited knowledge of the future, he could see so much that might still go wrong. There was no question; Cloud was going to have to keep saving the world.

Suddenly, the dark staircase dissolved into misty white. Cloud stumbled forward a few steps on the abruptly flat ground. He was standing in the field of flowers, the likes of which he had never seen. The landscape around him was similar to the area around Nibelheim that he played in as a child, only this version was overgrown with the strange flowers.

In the middle of the field sat a man with spiky blond hair and black clothes. He was facing Cloud and he had his head resting on his knees. He didn't look old, probably no older than thirty, but he looked tired and worn out, like a shirt that had been washed too many times.

The older man looked up as Cloud approached, but his expression didn't change at all, as if he wasn't really seeing the teenager. Cloud recognized the scar running through the black-clad man's eyebrow; it was the same as the one he had received when his older self first arrived.

Cloud held out his hand to the older version of himself, "C'mon, let's do this," he said. Something flickered in the haunted eyes of the man on the ground.

"Together?"

Cloud nodded as a black gloved hand grasped his, "Together." As Cloud pulled the older man to his feet, Cloud thought he saw his lips twitch upwards in a smile, just for an instant. Then the world was fading to white again.

When Cloud opened his eyes again, he was lying on the floor of the upstairs bedroom, next to the basement door. Vincent was sitting nearby, eyeing him with concern. He opened his mouth to reply and two different replies instantly came to mind. Huh, that was a strange feeling. He paused and tried to sort through the conflicting responses. It seemed like the two personalities were still slightly separated, at least to the point that they had similar but different thoughts. Cloud supposed it wouldn't be that easy to merge two people's minds, it would probably take a little time to get used to.

"He's back," he said, shortly followed by, "I'm back." Vincent frowned and Cloud put a hand on his forehead, "Sorry," he said, "not used to this yet."

Vincent looked like he wanted to be amused, but ended up concerned instead. "Will you be alright?" the former Turk asked. Cloud nodded, since it was easier than trying to talk again.

"What are we going to do?" Vincent asked.

Cloud paused for a moment. His younger version had come up with several plans that weren't bad, but now that he had both his older and younger perspectives, the picture was becoming clear. "I'm going back to Shinra," Cloud stated.

Vincent frowned in a way that Cloud knew was confused and leaning towards disapproving. "Why?" he asked softly.

"I'm going to save the world," Cloud said.

A/N: Sooo... Umm... By 'the next update should be on time', I obviously meant that it would be like two weeks late. Yeah. So. I'm mostly sorry. Honestly, I haven't had much writing time recently, it's tragic. I will (eventually) finish this story and I'm not going to abandon it, but you should probably note that it might not be super punctual for a while. Hopefully soon I'll figure out how to balance my new schedule and writing.